The 5th International Symposium on Regional Air Quality Management in Rapidly Developing Economic Regions (5RAQM), was held in Guangzhou between 16 – 19th November, and was organised by the Jinan University. It was co-chaired by Professors Shao Min, Zheng Junyu Allen, and Louie Peter. Around 700 attendees participated in the conference.  The theme of the 5RAQM was “Air Quality in China: Past, Present and Future”, and therefore the focus of the presentations and discussions was on the past experiences and lessons learnt, difficulties and challenges in air pollution control, as well as on proposed pollution prevention and control strategies for the coming decades. The Symposium provided an excellent interaction platform for scientists, policymakers, industrial entrepreneurs and domestic and overseas environmental protection stakeholders, for sharing the latest scientific information on air pollution and its causes in various rapidly economic development regions, boost an in-depth science-to-policy transformation, and foster science based air quality management across these regions.